No posts for Rafiq, yet? Am I the only one using this thing?
dagonaire
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(3 votes)
rafiq + lighting grieves = ownage
RaikouRider
★★☆☆☆ (2.1/5.0)(7 votes)
He needed to be a 3/4 to really be good. I really do not like him outside a very aggressive Bant deck. In midrange and control he doesn't help you unless you're already winning. Also he's a horrible topdeck. I'd much rather play a Chameleon Colossus.
Wrathofthemany
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(6 votes)
Rafig Owns. Rhox war monk Rafiq of the many 6 damage each turn. Your pretty much dead. It give creature first strike its just a nice card all togther. It might be a terrible top deck but its undoubtedly a finisher. Combined it with any reasonable card and you have won.
MetalCrisis
★★★☆☆ (3.1/5.0)(11 votes)
RAFIQ! He's probably the best Exalted Creature out there (Though Battlegrace Angel isn't far behind) and is pretty much a must-play in any bant deck.
Turn 1: Noble Hierarch
Turn 2: Rhox War Monk
Turn 3: Rafiq of the Many, swing with a 5/6 double striker with lifelink...
Turn 4: Battlegrace Angel, swing with a 6/7 double striker with double lifelink...
Yeah.
talonaris
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(4 votes)
bad topdeck??? only if theres one in play. Even then I know I can attack with my in-play rafiq no matter what then cast another.
this is my take
T1 noble
T2 shorecrasher mimic
T3 favor of the overbeing (swing for 8 in the air vigilance trample)
T4 Rafiq (swing for 18)
I know rhox is amazing but I love trample, more likely to finish the game right there.
rb2k
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Nice Card, awesome with evaders and his effect can kick in on the turn he comes in. He basically turns any creature into a double striker. He will turn any crappy evasion or even a deathtouch creature into a beast.
Averagedude
★☆☆☆☆ (1.7/5.0)(3 votes)
Rafiq is such an awesome Bant aggro card, it's just that he's so expensive and hard to find, same with Noble Hierarch. He's so expensive because he and Noble Hierarch are used in almost every Bant aggro deck that wins a lot and their value keeps going up. I'll never get those two. :(
Iwaaan
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
This card combined with Knotvine Paladin and one or two other exalted creatures out on the field at once can do some crazy, stupid damage. Combine Rafiq, Knotvine Paladin, and Finest hour?
You could win in one turn lol. Rafiq might be my favorite card ever printed, just because he has so much versatility in an exalted deck; he builds your monsters up, and he builds them up fast.
Arachibutyrophobia
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(7 votes)
Best exalted card there is. This guy is the first mythic rare I've ever opened in a pack.
Unfortunately, with the new rules, Battlegrace Angel doesn't give double lifelink anymore. :(
Chromatone
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(7 votes)
One of the best creatures ever printed. Forget all the combos, he alone attacks as a 8 power for 4 mana. Sadly now he is "bolt bait". Still deserves a 5!
SeaWolf2913
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
My Turn 4:
1) Plains, Akrasan Squire 2) Island, Ethercaste Knight (Squire for 3 unless opponent can chump block) 3) Forest or Any land, Steel of the Godhead on Ethercaste Knight (Knight for 5 unblockable, +5 lifelink) 4) Any land or Forest, Rafiq (Knight for 12 unblockable, +12 lifelink) GAME OVER
tomboy
★☆☆☆☆ (1.8/5.0)(2 votes)
i built my deck with booster packs andd this card was in my first pack! :)
cadenblade
★☆☆☆☆ (1.7/5.0)(3 votes)
Def belongs in a Gargantuan or naya deck. few things quite as frightening coming at you than a 6/6 with trample and double strike charging you. just throw on mage slayer or behemoth sledge for a few evil laughs.
darkfury
★★☆☆☆ (2.4/5.0)(5 votes)
an amazing card, if quite expensive (lands to my experience will not just cluster, but cluster in blocks of single colors).
while yes, a Mage Slayer is useful for such a deck, it cant be reasonably added in. 4 colors is hard to pull off
VirtueVsVice
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(4 votes)
I never get packs -- I'm a singles man -- , but one of the fews times I did I happened to get Rafig. No complaints here =)
ArKive
★★☆☆☆ (2.7/5.0)(3 votes)
1: Forest, Hierarch 2: Island/Plains, Rhox War Monk 3: any land, Rafiq, swing for 5 doublestriking lifelinking 4: Final Hour, swing for 6 doublestriking lifelinking, untap, swing for 9 doublestriking lifelinking. btw, lifelink doesnt stack, a Rhox monk and a Battlegrace will not give you double life link, you either have lifelink or you dont.
c0ncept
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(10 votes)
Phenomenal artwork graces potentially the best Exalted creature available.
nineyears
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Rafiq of the Many rocks. GWB1 mana cost for and 3/3, and his ability activates as soon as he comes into play. Double Strike is a great way to smash your opponent hard. Despite all the combos that by himself he cant make some pain.
Brave the Elements and Vine of Vastwoods will keep him alive in response to any removal for cheap. Qasali Pridemage can keep him from being Oblivion Ring and the like. I hope that wizard just dont let the whole exalted thing behind in the shards of alara block, and i hope that they keep making cards that are fun to play with.
T 1 hierarch T 2 Jenara T 3 Rafiq swing T 4 Finest Hour T 5 pump jenara swing for truck
Saiu
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I stole this from my opponents graveyard with Agadeem occultist and swung with my creeping tar pit. let's just say he wasn't very happy
Belz_
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(14 votes)
One of the most inspiring artworks for a Magic creature.
RafiqTheMiststalker
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
My favorite creature card to date. This guy's a boss.
achilleselbow
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The power level on some of these Alara cards is absurd and broken. For 4 mana, this is a 3/3 that becomes an 8/4 when attacking just on its own. Having three colors is barely a drawback with all the Alara tri-lands and fetch lands there are. Zendikar seems more balanced on the whole.
izzet_guild_mage
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Mmmm, EDH general...
BlackAlbino
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
rafiq of the many encourages you to attack alone
NeoSin
★★☆☆☆ (2.6/5.0)(4 votes)
Many Sigils, one purpose. <-------------What isnt obvious about that, Mekh?
Eved
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@MetalCrises
Lifelink doesn't stack.
Duskdale_Wurm
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Uhhh... Double Strike?!
Guest513736147
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(10 votes)
Torn between Rafiq and Jenara for EDH general.
gongshowninja
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The one purpose? Asskicking.
Amazing EDH general, amazing creature in general.
StaberFire
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(9 votes)
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned... 20 damage over two turns with Distortion Strike. The best part is that it only takes two cards.
Kirbster
★★☆☆☆ (2.6/5.0)(14 votes)
Hah, that picture's terribly cheesy. The "regal" lion head in the background is painfully remniscent of Three Wolf Moon.
rinoh20
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
i always thought that was a bear head in the background.
Donovann
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(9 votes)
I love how Bant has some kind of Arabic inspired sub-theme. "Rafiq" is Arabic for "friend" or "companion" - so he's a "friend of the many." Besides that there's fake Arabic/Middle Eastern names like Gwafa Hazid and in some of the art for Bant cards there look like some Middle Eastern-inspired stuff (check out Knight Caption of Eos to see what I'm talking about.
Kohta
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
I bought one of those premium all-foil booster packs yesterday, and this was the card in the rare/mythic slot. I was SO happy.
now I want to make an exalted deck.
Osuasheuatl
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(13 votes)
FUN FACT:
"Rafiq" is Pashto (language of Afghanistan) for "Friend" or "Comrade."
I wonder if that was an Easter egg from Wizards.
KnightOfSerra
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(7 votes)
@Osuasheuati Rafiq = friend? Interesting.
I always love seeing legendary knights especially when they are also playable!
lungsoftheocean
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(10 votes)
This is easily my favorite Bant card. Its nearly perfect.
Artwork is breathtaking. Name is both epic and inspiring. Abilities are a force to be reckoned with. Flavor text fits like a glove.
Rafiq is perfectly balanced. Four drop in tri-colored mana that is formidable but also answerable. This gives him extremely great meta-game play. I love the way this card plays withCelestial Colonnade,Sovereigns of Lost Alara, Baneslayer Angel, etc etc etc etc etc
Top ten best MTG cards ever IMO.
Khavrion
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Quintessential bant, no? I only have one of this guy, but he leads my bant deck like nobody's business. Him + Battlegrace Angel and Giltspire Avenger mean I can absorb damage and kill with the giltspire, then attack with a +3/+3 double strike & lifelink, regaining all the life back which I would've taken. It's a fantastic deck card.
BattleFish
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(3 votes)
I very handy card to have in Legacy. Double strike can really catch someone off guard and he is so easy to bring out too. I play him in my NO Bant deck. If you have Progenitus on the board from Natural Order, you can easily search for Rafiq using Green Sun's Zenith, another Natural Order, or just hard cast him. Then you can swing with a 11/11, double strike, protection from everything.
rawsugar
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.9/5.0)(5 votes)
very high rating for a triple color card...3,5/5
DarthParallax
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(5 votes)
Knight of the Reliquary is good, no doubts there. But Rafiq was far and away the better choice for the Mythic in Duel Decks: Knights v. Dragons
Throwing in just a singleton Exalted card for the Mythic Rare, practically like a Commander, would have been just fine. You play the deck like it's a normal army, then when things get rough, bring in the Champion of Champions.
Especially since I hear the new FTV art will suck :(
Hanksingle
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
HAMG, can he do the art for all of the cards? Wowza.
luca_barelli
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This guy can be the general in an EDH deck based on General damage. Just give him evasion and shroud of some sort and you're good to go.
starfox444
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Great in EDH.
Have nothing but 4 tapped lands and a freshly played Rafiq and you're a threat. Has anyone mentioned Steel of the Godhead yet? That's 12 Unblockable, lifelink commander damage. Even better if you can get the full slew of awesome stuff out on him, it's an ungodly hit if you get a Quietus Spike on him.
JoshMagic
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
So good... amazing... 5/5 Bant is my favorite deck, so yeah, i'm biased. deal with it.
Hey, my Commander Shepard in Mass Effect looks just like this guy!
"I'm Rafiq of the Many, and this is my favorite store on the Seaside Citadel."
TheManakinTransfer
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
After having my ass beaten many times by this beast, I have decided that you should never underestimate Bant decks.
Zachith
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Works very well in most decks it fits in. Enables a 1-turn kill in my Progenitus EDH deck.
Zher0
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Rafiq of the Many outweighs Rafiq of the Few.
LordRandomness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Parallax: Having to put {U} in the deck would have caused problems.
SAUS3
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@TheManakinTransfer You should just never underestimate this guy. He seems like he is fairly costed, but then you realise that by himself, he is a 4/4 doublestrike for 4 when he attacks. That's already really strong. To make him broken, they give him pseudo haste by making it so other people can get his doublestrike (your random 2/2 you played the turn before is now a 3/3 doublestrike).
I really like this card though. He just seems so cool.
Blackworm_Bloodworm
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Contender for the best card art in game. First commander I ever saw in action. Represents the true spirit of Bant. This guy is simply awesome. 5/5
I wish they kept this art for the other printings. I'm not a huge fan of exalted, however, and in EDH, most of the time this guy is just mean...
One of the better candidates for the 'swing for 21 repeatedly' commander deck, but I don't really enjoy that deck, and it's not that fun to play against.
For other formats, it's generally too low-impact immediately, and too susceptible to removal to be good.
Comments (63)
Turn 1: Noble Hierarch
Turn 2: Rhox War Monk
Turn 3: Rafiq of the Many, swing with a 5/6 double striker with lifelink...
Turn 4: Battlegrace Angel, swing with a 6/7 double striker with double lifelink...
Yeah.
this is my take
T1 noble
T2 shorecrasher mimic
T3 favor of the overbeing (swing for 8 in the air vigilance trample)
T4 Rafiq (swing for 18)
I know rhox is amazing but I love trample, more likely to finish the game right there.
You could win in one turn lol. Rafiq might be my favorite card ever printed, just because he has so much versatility in an exalted deck; he builds your monsters up, and he builds them up fast.
Unfortunately, with the new rules, Battlegrace Angel doesn't give double lifelink anymore. :(
1) Plains, Akrasan Squire
2) Island, Ethercaste Knight (Squire for 3 unless opponent can chump block)
3) Forest or Any land, Steel of the Godhead on Ethercaste Knight (Knight for 5 unblockable, +5 lifelink)
4) Any land or Forest, Rafiq (Knight for 12 unblockable, +12 lifelink) GAME OVER
while yes, a Mage Slayer is useful for such a deck, it cant be reasonably added in. 4 colors is hard to pull off
2: Island/Plains, Rhox War Monk
3: any land, Rafiq, swing for 5 doublestriking lifelinking
4: Final Hour, swing for 6 doublestriking lifelinking, untap, swing for 9 doublestriking lifelinking.
btw, lifelink doesnt stack, a Rhox monk and a Battlegrace will not give you double life link, you either have lifelink or you dont.
Brave the Elements and Vine of Vastwoods will keep him alive in response to any removal for cheap. Qasali Pridemage can keep him from being Oblivion Ring and the like. I hope that wizard just dont let the whole exalted thing behind in the shards of alara block, and i hope that they keep making cards that are fun to play with.
You're welcome.
T 2 Jenara
T 3 Rafiq swing
T 4 Finest Hour
T 5 pump jenara swing for truck
Lifelink doesn't stack.
Amazing EDH general, amazing creature in general.
now I want to make an exalted deck.
"Rafiq" is Pashto (language of Afghanistan) for "Friend" or "Comrade."
I wonder if that was an Easter egg from Wizards.
I always love seeing legendary knights especially when they are also playable!
Artwork is breathtaking.
Name is both epic and inspiring.
Abilities are a force to be reckoned with.
Flavor text fits like a glove.
Rafiq is perfectly balanced. Four drop in tri-colored mana that is formidable but also answerable. This gives him extremely great meta-game play. I love the way this card plays withCelestial Colonnade,Sovereigns of Lost Alara, Baneslayer Angel, etc etc etc etc etc
Top ten best MTG cards ever IMO.
Throwing in just a singleton Exalted card for the Mythic Rare, practically like a Commander, would have been just fine. You play the deck like it's a normal army, then when things get rough, bring in the Champion of Champions.
Especially since I hear the new FTV art will suck :(
Have nothing but 4 tapped lands and a freshly played Rafiq and you're a threat.
Has anyone mentioned Steel of the Godhead yet? That's 12 Unblockable, lifelink commander damage. Even better if you can get the full slew of awesome stuff out on him, it's an ungodly hit if you get a Quietus Spike on him.
"I'm Rafiq of the Many, and this is my favorite store on the Seaside Citadel."
You should just never underestimate this guy. He seems like he is fairly costed, but then you realise that by himself, he is a 4/4 doublestrike for 4 when he attacks. That's already really strong. To make him broken, they give him pseudo haste by making it so other people can get his doublestrike (your random 2/2 you played the turn before is now a 3/3 doublestrike).
I really like this card though. He just seems so cool.
First commander I ever saw in action.
Represents the true spirit of Bant.
This guy is simply awesome. 5/5
One of the better candidates for the 'swing for 21 repeatedly' commander deck, but I don't really enjoy that deck, and it's not that fun to play against.
For other formats, it's generally too low-impact immediately, and too susceptible to removal to be good.
Pretty unbeatable in limited though.